NSW gas is now at $3 to $4 per gigajoule and gas ex-WA terminals, $8 to $9 per gigajoule

NSW gas is now at $3 to $4 per gigajoule and gas ex-WA terminals is $8 to $9 per gigajoule said Ken Baxter, former secretary of the Department of Premier & Cabinet in Victoria, and now, non-executive director of the Hydro Electricity Corp of Tasmania. In an opinion-piece in The Australian Financial Review, (15/9/2007, p. 63) Baxter wrote; “Paul Keating demonstrated with privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas that iconic institutions could be privately owned and prosper without massive government subventions. NSW’s electricity sector is not iconic. Governments’ choices should be to provide capital and recurrent funds for its core functions”.

NSW pipeliners want higher price: Baxter argued “No new investment will be made in gas pipelines if NSW prices remain at the current levels”.

Blame China for NSW gas price rise: “If Chinese demand for energy continues to expand, NSW energy consumers will face the prospect that energy prices could double between now and 2012, regardless of who owns the generators and retailers.”